Reserve fire an accident

Wednesday 21st May 2008, 11:50AM BST.

A fire which ravaged 50 acres of mossland at a Shropshire nature reserve was an accident, fire chiefs have confirmed.The fire at Whixall Moss, near Whitchurch, raged for more than three hours and left the reserve a “blackened landscape.”

More than 50 firefighters from all over the county battled to bring the blaze under control, and specialist off-road vehicles had to be called to the scene last Wednesday afternoon when the fire broke out.

Firefighters were still on scene the following morning, damping down the mosses.

Today, investigating officer Andy Griffiths said the fire was caused accidentally.

Reserve manager Dr Joan Daniels said she was confident the landscape could be restored again.

She said most of the wildlife on the reserve had survived.

Dr Daniels said the fire had made it possible for staff to see where hand-cut drains were in the bogs, so they could block drains up if they need to restore water levels.

“Every cloud has a silver lining,” she said.

Dr Daniels also issued a plea for people to take care when visiting the reserve.

“We don’t know how the fire was started, it could be something like a cigarette end, or a piece of glass, but I would ask people to be careful and not smoke when they are in open countryside where things can burn,” she said.

View more: North Shropshire news.